We Can Be Heroes
by DncingThrghLife
Summary: An in-depth look into one of the most dynamic characters of the Percy Jackson series, Nico di Angelo. It'll be a long and hard journey to get to where he is today. Watch as he grows from an "impressionable boy" into the "Ghost King." All canon characters.
1. I Go Back to the Future

**No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and settings belong to Mr. Riordan and Disney Hyperion.**

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**CHAPTER ONE**

_**I GO BACK TO THE FUTURE**_

There was a time when my life didn't completely suck. Lucky me though, I can't remember it.

Perhaps it's my fate to be forgotten, disappointed and alone. Or maybe not. A kid can still hope, right?

The problem is, Nico di Angelo is no longer a kid.

How can I be after everything that has happened to me?

**~N~**

The lady with the bat wings should've been a dead giveaway.

She walked into our hotel room like she owned the place. She was dressed in a dark, pinstriped dress suit and strangely wore a bulky leather jacket over the top. She had unusually long hands that curled around a large briefcase. Her face was stretched tight and shriveled, like she spent too much time in the sun. She was ugly with a capital "U."

My older sister, Bianca, was lying on her stomach reading _The Wizard of Oz_ aloud to me from her bed. I was sitting on the floor underneath her, arranging my tin soldiers in attack formation just as Dorothy Gale and her entire house got swept up in a tornado. Even though this was supposed to be the first time she was reading it to me, I got an odd feeling that I had heard it before. Many times before.

The strange lady cleared her throat. It sounded like she was hacking up throat phlegm. _Ew_.

Bianca looked up lazily, "Who are you?"

The lady just pointed with a long, cracked fingernail to her golden nametag on the lapel of her leather jacket. It read, "MEG—SOCIAL SERVICES."

I had no idea what "social services" were and, by the looks of it, neither did Bianca. So I pointed my commanding officer and utility cannon and fired away at the intruder. Sadly, my commanding officer and utility cannon were only two inches high and made of tin. The target was unaffected by my siege.

"Hush, you incessant child!" She hissed at me. That was just mean.

"Hey!" I quickly stood but ended up jamming my foot on a sniper's gun. I tried to ignore the pain as I said, "I'm not a cessent anything! I'm almost nine years old."

Meg Social Services rolled her eyes. They were red like blood. I didn't like blood. "Pack up your things, children. I am taking you away from here."

For a moment I didn't know what to think. _Leave?_ I couldn't leave. I just got here…didn't I? When did I get here? How did I get here? _Where_ was here?

Bianca suddenly sat up, crossed-legged with stiff shoulders. My sister's dark eyes glowed passionately, "We aren't going anywhere with you. We're meant to stay at this hotel until our parents come back." I nodded along with her. That sounded right.

Meg Social Services scoffed, "Honey, your parents are never coming back."

Immediately the pain in my foot faded away. What replaced it was a pain in my heart.

**~N~**

I had seen the future and it was awesome.

For the fifteen minutes it took to walk through the lobby of the Lotus Hotel, I was completely distracted from the heartache of being an orphan.

Red, blue and yellow lights blinded my eyes. A strange mix of unknown music deafened my ears. The heavy floral perfume of the hotel made my nose twitch. There were so many toys. Piles of stuffed animals, stacks of action figures and reams of comics. Most of the other items I didn't recognize. Shelves were packed neon guns and vibrant dolls. Kids my age were flying on chords above our heads. The floor moved like it was motion picture. It was absolute magic. I wanted it all.

The only things I owned were my set of tin soldiers and a few volumes of Batman and Superman magazines. If I had known all this stuff was down here, maybe I could've had more fun and Bianca wouldn't have had to watch over me.

I tried unsuccessfully to reign in my excitement. Meg Social Services noticed when I started hopping in place. She rolled her eyes again (she did that a lot) and said, "Go pick out some playthings to occupy your time."

I didn't have to be told twice.

I ran over to the comic books, looking over the latest editions. Batman and Superman looked really different. The illustrations were more detailed and the settings were a lot gloomier. Underneath the comics shelf was a large, colorful display that lit up to say:

_Mythomagic!_

_Your gateway into the world of the Gods_

_Play with your friends and beat the Odds_

There were intricate figures in a glass case. They rested on a cloud of cotton, making it look like the belonged in the sky. Three figurines were displayed above the others. They were obviously the best ones. A man with a debonair beard sat with an oversized lightning bolt. The man next to him stood with a massive trident. The last one was much darker. He held a mean looking scepter and a gruesome skull in the other hand. All the other characters had some distinguishable trait. One woman had an owl and a shield and another looked like a movie star in the clouds. There were monsters too, like a three-headed dog and a lion with a scorpion tail. I _had_ to have them all.

Beneath the glass case were rows of the figurines with matching cards for sale. Except…they weren't exactly for sale. There was no price listed on the boxes and no cashier to ring them up. I shrugged to myself. _That means the more the merrier_.

I began collecting one of each row. I had the lightning bolt guy (_Zeus_, his card read), the trident guy (_Poseidon_), the owl woman (_Athena_), a guy with a wicked looking spear (_Ares_), a man with a clock branded on his chest (_Kronos_), a guy in a yellow chariot (_Apollo_) and a guy with a giant goblet (_Dionysius_). I also picked up the creature pack: _Cerberus, Pegasus_, the _Centuar_, the _Manticore_ and _The Furies_.

I had no idea what any of these names meant, but I was more than willing to learn. I studied Zeus' card. The front side had his image imprinted on a square of foil and when I moved it from side to side, his likeness changed slightly. When I moved it to the right, he had dark, coiffed hair. But when I shifted it to the left, he had a blonde coloring. I was more impressed with the magic of the foil rather than what was on it.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" My sister asked from behind me. I turned and saw she had already found her "playthings." Her arms were overflowing with slim cases that had movie posters on them.

"Hey, that's _The Wizard of Oz_! Didn't we see that before?" It was weird. I honestly couldn't remember.

"I think so… maybe not. Anyway, these all looked interesting and the nice bellhop over there told me that you watch them on a television."

"What's a television?"

Bianca shrugged as if to say, _How should I know?_

"I'm getting these!" I showed her the elaborate display. Her eyes widened, she was clearly impressed.

"That's really neat, Nico. Did find all of them?"

I looked down at my selection and shook my head. "No, they seem to be out of the skeleton man and the movie star lady. But it's okay. I can find them later."

Bianca nodded, her long dark hair falling in her eyes.

"Children," Meg Social Services' voice cut into our conversation like ice, "Are these the items you desire?"

"Yes! How much will they cost?" I asked, hoping I could keep all of them. Meg Social Services waved that off like it was nothing.

"Let us be gone, children. Our transportation has arrived."

She took both of our arms in her cold hands and shuffled us out the front door of the hotel. As we got closer, the lights got brighter, the music got louder and the perfume got heavier. I suddenly didn't want to leave The Lotus Hotel. Maybe I could find the skeleton guy and the movie star lady if I went back, if I just stayed a little longer…

The fresh outside air immediately cleared away all those thoughts. A long (I mean, really long!) black car was parked in front of us. Meg Social Services opened the back door for us and we slid inside.

The seats were dark leather and the paneling was sleek. A large screen attached at the roof on the right side and an endless assortment of food and drinks hung down from the other side.

I was in the future and this was exactly where I was going to stay.

**~N~**

The Happy Meal was starting to get on my nerves.

I could _not_ open up the toy! And the packets that "claimed" they had ketchup? Forget it. The only thing I _could_ open was the "M"-shaped flaps and the wrapped hamburger. Bianca seemed to have no trouble eating _her_ meal. She hummed and exclaimed at how tasty it was.

We were watching a movie called _The Raiders of the Lost Ark_. The costumes and design were all familiar to me. I looked down and noticed Bianca and I were wearing the same style clothing. She wore a modest yellow dress and flats. I wore a button down shirt, sweater vest and khaki slacks. I didn't think about our clothes at all until now. The caption at the bottom of the screen said that the time was 1936. It _certainly_ wasn't 1936 right now.

Curious, I asked Meg Social Services, "What year is it?"

"Two-thousand and six mortal years." She replied.

Okay, I _knew_ it was the future, but even that seemed a little extreme. We had only been at the hotel for a month. Right?

Suddenly, I wasn't sure. It made my head hurt, trying to wrap my mind around it.

Bianca was too busy eating and staring at the miniature film screen to be concerned with our short conversation.

I looked back at my Happy Meal and frowned. I was going to eat this food if it was the last thing that I would do.

I conquered the ketchup and the toy by the time Indiana Jones found the Lost Ark of the Covenant. It was well worth the trouble.

By the time that the credits rolled, I was back to studying my _Mythomagic_ cards. There were so many to learn. Zeus had lightning bolt power that could do 600 damage. Poseidon had 2000 attack power and could summon Pegasus, so his strength could be doubled. Ares had infinite health for three rounds. I couldn't decide which one I liked best!

Bianca put a new film in. The poster on its box said _Star Wars: A New Hope_. As soon as the overture started, the _Mythomagic_ cards became long forgotten. I was sucked into the world of the Jedi and the Force. It was more than magic. It was another entity altogether. I wanted to be a part of it. The idea that you could _train_ to become a hero called to me like nothing before.

I seriously thought about changing my name to Luke di Skywalker.

In between _Star Wars_ Episode IV and V, Bianca stopped the movie to ask Meg Social Services, "Why did you come to get us?"

She smiled into the mirror on the sun visor and sharp yellow teeth were reflected back at us. "My sister, Alecto, wanted to be the one to retrieve you children. But I couldn't very well let _her_ get all the credit. I am the Fury of Jealousy, after all."

Bianca looked taken aback. She glanced over at me, as if she thought I would understand what the bat lady was talking about.

Instead, I whispered to her, "Do you see that lady's wings? She looks like a real Batman! Like she could karate chop us or something!" My sister stared blankly at me. She obviously wasn't seeing it.

"Nico - " she started in a concerned tone.

"No, really! Just look! She has wings!"

"All I see is a homely old lady who is being _very_ kind to us by driving us _across the country_." My sister stressed to me. She clearly didn't understand. I slumped down further in the soft seat and looked back at my _Mythomagic_ cards. They seemed to be the only things that were real in this car. Mini movie screens? Films made out of discs?

What next? Light sabers?

**~N~**

In the days it took to get to Washington D.C. by car, we had already watched the greatest films of the twentieth century.

I'd given up trying to explain the fact that I was wearing 1930's clothes and how I felt out of place when we would stop at gasoline stations. I was now living in the year 2006 and that was that.

We did eventually get new clothes. "To fit in," as Meg Social Services put it. On the second day, we had taken a few hours to go to a _huge_ building made of department stores in Huston, Texas. I found a rack that had _Mythomagic _and _Star Wars_ shirts. I bought all they had. Technically, it was Meg Social Services and her black and gold card that bought them. Apparently small pieces of plastic were money too. Who knew?

Bianca decided to get lots of pants. It was as if she was waiting for this day her entire life. Of course, she had to get matching tops, jackets, shoes and hats. _Girls…_

When we were on our way out, I noticed an brown leather aviator coat in the window of an antiques shop. It looked like something Indiana Jones would wear. Only heroes could pull off having fur on their collars, I reasoned. At that moment, I promised myself that one day I would be a hero.

I was going to be worthy of wearing a jacket with a fur collar.

**~N~**

I wasn't scared that the Golden-Fleeced Ram was driving the bus.

We were finally in D.C. and Meg Social Services complained of being too tired to drive any further. We had just driven from Las Vegas in four days straight. What did she have to whine about?

We pulled into a large parking lot late at night and collected our suitcases from the trunk. In the pale light from the streetlamps, I said goodbye to the limousine (I did, in fact, learn what it called from watching _Die Hard_). Meg Social Services took us again by the wrists (she did that a lot) and lugged us over to a bright blue bench on the side of a slow street. A group of tough looking guys had taken up residence right behind the bench, in front of a dark alleyway. This was totally the makings for an awesome action movie.

Meg Social Services tugged on our wrists tighter and growled. Literally growled.

It was if everything happened in fast-forward. The four tough guys seemed to grow larger as they stepped away from the wall, coming straight for us. My heart pounded excitedly as they began cracking their necks and fingers. They were definitely going to attack us. It was so cool.

I looked up to see Meg Social Services' red eyes glow menacingly with a matching sharp-toothed smile. She shouted out something in a different language. It sounded like something you would expect to hear on the planet Tatooine. Suddenly, a sleek blue bus materialized in a _WHOOSH_ of smoke. The side of the bus read _Hermes' Travelers Express_. The four tough guys backed away. It was kind of anticlimactic.

We boarded the bus in flash. Meg Social Services paid the fare in gold coins. The driver was friendly and said to take any seat we wanted. The entire bus was empty. I sat down in the seat right behind him, anxious to talk to someone other than my sister. He spoke about "how great of a gig it was" and how grateful he was "that Ares gave me this job. I was supposed to be dead, you know." I smiled and nodded. Obviously, this guy liked to speak figuratively. I was happy to share my new-found knowledge of movies. The driver (_Khrysomallos_, I think his nametag read) laughed along with every line.

"You know, Mr. di Angelo, you remind me of a child I once knew. _Phrixus… _such a good kid. Didn't deserve to be sacrificed. So I told them 'Hasta la vista, baby! I'll be back! Because I'm king of the world!'" He threw his fist up in the air like Judd Nelson. I laughed so much, my stomach hurt. I caught his eye in the reflection of the rearview mirror and saw that his head had a the full horns of ram.

**~N~**

The Fury of Jealousy left us at military school. I shouldn't have been surprised; it was where she was told to take Bianca and me.

We said our goodbyes awkwardly in the entryway of Westover Hall. She assured us not to worry about the cost: a trust fund that had been left by our parents was to take care of all the expenses. Bianca thanked her profusely for all she did for us. I gave Meg Social Services a warm hug in return. It must've been the first one she ever had because her cold arms were uncoordinated as they wrapped around my shoulders.

"Make your father proud," she whispered like a snake in my ear.

"I will," I swore, not even knowing what it was that I was promising.

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**Three guesses as to which Fury "Meg Social Services" is!**


	2. News Flash: School Sucks

**No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and settings belong to Mr. Riordan and Disney Hyperion. **

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_**CHAPTER TWO**_

_**NEWS FLASH: SCHOOL SUCKS**_

All anyone could talk about was the new eighth grader with a goatee.

Bianca and I had been at Westover Hall for over a year and a half. Since that time, we had gotten an all-new vice-principle, Dr. Thorn; the former one having left for reasons unknown. If that wasn't suspicious enough, I definitely knew that there was something wrong with that guy. For one, he had a super fake French accent. Like Fezzik the Giant from _The Princess Bride_, I knew that "people in masks couldn't be trusted." The same was true for phony accents. Put together with his oily hair and stiff posture, he was a bonafide Bond villain if I ever saw one. I couldn't wait to get called down to his office to see if he had an elaborate lair hidden somewhere.

The most crazy thing though was the way his blue eye seemed to follow my every move. Yes, _eye_; his other one was a dead brown. He would always watch me with that blue eye during meals, breaks, assemblies and physical examinations.

At first, I thought I was just imagining things. I sometimes tend to get a little too "hyperactive," as the nurse calls it. But then I asked Bianca about it during our "Sunday Sit-down" in the gymnasium the first week Dr. Thorn arrived:

"Oh good. You see it too?" She questioned me quietly on the red bleachers. Like any good undercover agent, I subtly nodded so as to not draw attention to our conversation. We continued discussing our vice-principle's weirdness until the bell rang.

It was finally clear. Everything was pointing towards Dr. Thorn-from-the-fake-French-Black-Lagoon being a top-secret-covert-assassin sent to kidnap us.

But, to be like any decent detective, I needed concrete evidence. That was going to be difficult. Especially with the headmistress, Mrs. Gottschalks, literally breathing down my neck.

She too had taken an odd liking to me. It was almost as if she was waiting for me to step out of line so she could rip me a new one. Whenever she would come in to observe our fifth grade class, she would stand directly behind my desk, making notes. Sometimes she would lean in close to inspect my work and I could feel warm air condense at the collar of my shirt. Then she would give a loud sniff, like she was clearly unhappy with our progress. This happened _every Friday_. At this point, I wasn't even nervous anymore. I was just irritated.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. The other kids in my class shied away from me, like I was a black hole in the room. It was funny because I would go out of my way to help someone whenever we had group projects, but my efforts were not mutual. And since there were an odd number of people in the class, I usually worked by my myself on partnered assignments. The teacher didn't seem to notice I was clearly the ugly duckling of the class. Or, if he did, he didn't care.

My ninth and tenth birthday passed me by and, of course, no one thought anything of it. Everyone else got a free homework pass and an off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday." Not me. It was just another day to them: October 30. My big day got overshadowed by the build-up to the annual Halloween dance. Bianca tried her best to keep it special. She celebrated both occasions with a kiss on the cheek and a new Mythomagic figurine she nicked from the Lost and Found.

And so it should come as no surprise that the only person I sat with at mealtimes was Bianca. And while we got along really well some days, it was obvious she didn't quite share in my enthusiasm for trying to reveal Dr. Thorn's true identity.

"Nico, this has got to stop," she would tell me regularly. "We can't get kicked out. _This_ is our new home and no one is attempting to kidnap us."

That was usually when I would start to argue because I knew Bianca didn't like that this deathtrap of a school was our current residence. But Bianca would shoot me down every time with, "Just because no one else notices us doesn't mean that Dr. Thorn _actually_ is."

Her head would fall slightly and she would stare at her food as if it held the secrets to the world. I would usually drop it by then and we would continue eating in strained conversation.

We were both thinking the same thing: no one saw us. No one cared.

I knew deep down it was the whole reason why I was putting so much effort into uncovering a silly, made-up quest. It was keeping me from trying to solve our own personal mystery: _what happened to our parents?_

And, more importantly, _why did no one want us?_

**~N~**

I was the Dark Knight keeping watch over the city of Gotham.

Electricity crackled in the black clouds overhead. I sat perched atop Wayne Tower and waited for the storm. The golden city lights began to glow dimmer at each second that passed. Shadows were beginning to overtake the world. It was only a matter of time before they captured me as well.

I saw a streak of blue flash across the night sky. I knew who it was and immediately my heart beat faster. My smile was unseen in the night.

Then a movement from down below caught my attention. A woman dressed in an elegant black dress was running from something. She needed my help.

I jumped without hesitation from my roost. The cold air whipped at my ears and pounded against my body. All of a sudden I was next to the woman in black, ready to block her attacker. I could sense her fear as she gripped at my arm with icy hands. I turned to comfort her but a long dark veil covered her face. Before I had time to question that, she whispered my name and I suddenly realized that she wasn't scared for her safety, but for _mine_.

Time slowed. The city was gone and all that was left was total darkness. A teenaged boy with blonde hair and a nasty facial scar stepped from the shadows. He stood with his arms crossed, in complete control of this new environment. He was illuminated by the darkness, it seemed to make him more powerful. Then he started walking, his steps transcended the distance between us in unbelievably long strides. He stood in front of me and I could feel his icy breath scratch at my face. I tried to disarm him but my movements were sluggish. My mind was racing, but my body wouldn't move.

The boy smirked. He was going to kill me, but I wasn't going down without a fight. I closed my eyes and put all my effort into punching him. It was impossible and we both knew it.

Then, like lightning, warm air rushed around me and I could sense _he_ was there. I felt him clutch my hand tenderly and I knew I was safe. My heart skipped and I opened my eyes to find the Man of Steel standing before me in a pool of bright blue light.

The scarred boy and the darkness were gone now and replaced with a room of endless radiance. It was a glorious city built in the clouds. I looked all around in a daze and he smiled gently at me.

He saved me. He always had and he always would. He always kept his promise.

I smiled back and I was instantly happy.

And that was when I would wake up.

**~N~**

My dreams were past being weird. They were now in a new category of their own: Confusing-Cluster-of-Crazy-Images-That-Make-No-Sen se. CCCITMNS, for short.

I had already accepted that I couldn't control my subconscious when I was sleeping (I could hardly control it when I was awake!) but I got the distinct impression that my mind was telling me something. For better or for worse, something was coming. I just didn't know what it was.

Whenever I told Bianca about my reoccurring dream of the woman, the boy and Superman, my sister would remain silent. I could tell she was having strange dreams too, but she obviously didn't want to talk about them. The one time I _did_ get her to say something, she told me with misty eyes, "I've seen death."

She went on to assure me that she was glad my dreams were much happier. "Let's hope they stay that way, _fratellino_." She squeezed my hand and I knew everything was alright.

No matter how cold and stony the walls of Westover Hall were, I was simply grateful I had my big sister with me. Even though we rarely agreed, it was still nice to know that _she_ appreciated me.

We were both the ghosts of the school. It was a sad and honest fact. And while the idea of having the power of invisibility sounded cool on paper, the reality of it was much worse. Especially when your place of residence was _literally_ a haunted house. Westover Hall was like something from Transylvania, complete with the historical crests and honorific armory. I half expected a suit of armor to walk down the dimly lit corridors. I used to be scared of the dark. Now I was _terrified_ of the dark. I was working on overcoming this fear, but progress was slow.

My life was lonely even though I was surrounded by hundreds of students.

It wasn't until the eighth grader with the goatee arrived that I started to hope that things could get better.

**~N~**

Grover Underwood was perhaps the most normal person I had never met.

He was enrolled halfway through the fall term of my second year, but that wasn't what people were talking about. Grover Underwood did _no_t like Westover Hall and he made that clear every chance he got. He walked with an odd gait and refused to take off his Rastafarian cap. He spoke out loudly against the cruelty of animals (as many of the walls were decorated with exotic pelts) and protested the black and red uniforms. To top it off, as an homage to our school chants, he wrote in on the nametag of his P.E. shirt, "GRUNT."

Grover Underwood was Mrs. Gottschalk's living nightmare. It was awesome.

I always craned my head in the cafeteria to see what he would do next. Sometimes he would sit at our table, but he was always far enough away that we couldn't talk to him. I just knew that if I could pick his brain, I would have a partner in crime for my reopened case of the so-called Dr. Thorn Mystery-debacle-from-the-Black-Lagoon.

But before I knew it, the end of the semester was only a few days away.

Bianca and I got called down to Mrs. Gottschalk's' office during the last week. I dragged my feet the whole way. Mrs. Gottschalk in a class room was bad enough. But put her in a confided space with weapons and lions mounted on the walls? You would run away crying for your mommy too.

The hallow marble eyes of the taxidermy-ed jungle cat bore into my soul as I sat in the rigid seat in her daunting office. Mrs. Gottschalk peered down her half-moon spectacles at us in a way that it made her look like Professor McGonagall's evil twin. She informed us in an unsympathetic voice that someone from the Social Services department was going to pick us up after the Christmas dance.

"This institution is just not the right fit for you two." She had an icy smirk on her face like she was watching us drown in a vat of acid.

I wanted to tell her right where she could put her vat of acid, but Bianca beat me to it, "Thank you so much , Mrs. Gottschalk. We are deeply sorry we couldn't stay longer." Bianca plastered on the most fake smile I had ever seen her make. An I'm-not-really-laughing cough burst out of me. I couldn't help it. _Kill them with kindness, indeed_.

Mrs. Gottschalk's eyes narrowed but she dismissed us without a second glance. _Thank all that is holy…._

As soon as the heavy door closed behind us, I gave an excited fist pump and wrapped my arms around Bianca. She hugged me back and we awkwardly jumped together in place. It was a silly reaction, but I couldn't find it in myself to stop the giddiness that bubbled up at that moment.

We were getting out of there. I honestly didn't care where we went next, as long as it wasn't called "Westover Hall."

* * *

**Happy Birthday today to Nico! **

**(No one actually knew _when_ his birthday was, but they do now! ;) )**


	3. Invisibility Isn't Everything

**No copyright infringement is intended. All characters, settings and dialogue belong to Mr. Riordan and Disney Hyperion. **

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**INVISIBILITY ISN'T ALL THAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE**

All I wanted for Christmas was an awesome day. A day where anything could happen. A day where Bianca could smile and I could be happy.

Of course, I also had a backup list if Santa Claus couldn't come through with that wish. It wasn't terribly long. Only the special edition _Mythomagic_ Titans v. Giants double pack, the Egyptian Encryption deck, the Africanus Extreme Expansion deck, the Norse Force deck and the Stormin' Roman deck. Also a light saber. And world peace.

Looking back, I guess Santa _did_ follow through with everything I had asked for (except the whole "world peace" part. Yeah, _that _wasn't happening anytime soon).

I have to laugh. If only things were that simple. Unfortunately, my Christmas wish list had come with an unforeseen cost.

But, even knowing what I know now, I don't think I would ever change a thing.

**~N~**

Though I hated Westover Hall, I was kind of bummed I didn't get a going away party.

No one paid me a second glance on my last day of school. Not when I sang Grover Underwood's version of our school song at breakfast nor when I came out top of my class in the Physical Fitness examinations. Not even when I got up during class to blow my nose! And I blew my nose _loudly_. I made sure.

Nope. Not even a blink from the girl on the front row.

The whole school-wide conspiracy of me being an invisible nothing had past the point of being annoying. It was just plain _sad_.

Throughout the day, I slowly gave up on my plans to get noticed. And, more importantly, my other plan of finding out who Dr. Thorn really was was thrown out the window as well.

So, as I packed my bags before the school dance, I was left with nothing else but my own thoughts. That wasn't a good thing.

It became clear to me since I left the Lotus Hotel, that my mind was a dark place. I mean, literally _dark_. Everything was gone, hidden in the black recesses of my memory. It hurt my head to even _think_ out where I came from. It was like that feeling you get when you try to imagine how big the universe is, times ten.

In that moment, as I folded clothes into my duffle bag, I thought about my mother. I wondered if _she_ was the one who taught me how to properly fold a shirt. I tried to recall her face, but I simply couldn't. Any image I might have had of her was erased. That made me think about Bianca. The topic of our parents was our unspoken conversational rule: if we didn't talk about it, it wasn't true. Bianca would shut down instantly at even the mention of the word "mother." Her eyes would grow big, her jaw would lock and she would drop her head to hide her reaction.

It was obvious the invisibility thing was hitting her the hardest. Each day, her shoulders slumped further down. She was crawling into a dark shell. No one noticed. No one cared.

I think she was the reason why I tried so hard to get people's attention on the last day of school. Maybe, just maybe, if they could see me, they could see Bianca too.

Clearly, that didn't work out. As such, I was more than a little ticked-off as I entered the gym that evening for the Christmas dance.

I walked straight through the middle of the decorated court/dance floor in a final effort to get noticed. Surprise, surprise. Absolutely _no one_ reacted to the fact that I was there.

Fed up with it all, I threw my hands in the air and shouted, "Here I am!"

Suddenly, I felt someone grab the arm of the long-sleeved _May The Force Be With You_ shirt.

It was Bianca. And she looked mad.

She pulled me over to the bleachers in a huff. "Nico! What do you think you're doing? We're supposed to be waiting for the lady from the Social Services to pick us up."

I shook her off and sat down defiantly. I wasn't a little kid. "No! Mrs. Gottschalk said the lady was going to pick us up _after_ the dance."

Bianca's eyes flared. She was about to say something when Grover Underwood came dashing into the gym like his pants were on fire. He was evidently trying to pull a prank. He went up to the makeshift sound booth and put in a silver disc. It immediately changed the classical music that was currently playing to bubbly pop music. Everyone cheered, including the teachers chaperoning the dance. Grover Underwood gave his audience a bow and trumped off to the punch table to much applause.

I hooted and clapped along with everyone else. Bianca sighed and sat next to me on the bleachers.

"I suppose we could stay for a little while." She said with false reluctance.

I smiled up at her, glad she was giving the dance a try.

Then Grover made another commotion. He dropped his punch glass, letting it spill across the table and promptly ran out the gym doors as if his life was in jeopardy.

Unexpectedly, the whole dance stopped. Everybody froze, almost in a trance for a second. The music stopped and the world was in a sudden stillness. Something in the air shifted. Both Bianca and I tensed. Then, as quickly as it started, the music started back up and everyone resumed what they were doing.

Everything was different, yet everything was the same.

Immediately, my mind started moving a mile a minute. _Was that a disturbance in the Force? How come we weren't affected? What if _Grover_ was the top-secret-covert-assassin-sent-to-kidnap-us? What if he was an undercover agent working from the inside out to destroy the Dr. Thorn regime? What if—_

Bianca stopped the high-speed train in my head. "_Fratellino,_ you have that look on your face."

"What look?" I argued back, but I was glad to see a smile forming in the corners of her mouth.

She played along, "You know, that look you get when you start thinking about _Star Wars_ or _Mythomagic_. The look that says, 'Oh, Luke Skywalker, Clark Kent, Indiana Jones! Can I get your autograph?' Don't deny it. You know you look star-struck!"

I nudged her shoulder with mine and she smiled back brightly. Her eyes lit up and she glowed with happiness. I loved her so much, I couldn't be angry with her.

"Speaking of _Mythomagic . . . ._" I started. I pulled out the small deck of holographic cards from my back pocket. Bianca groaned loudly.

She went back into her defensive shell as she pulled her favorite green hat down lower on her head. "Forget I said anything!"

I laughed and shuffled the cards, still hoping she would give the game another shot. No such luck.

What started off as a rare cheerful conversation quickly escalated into a full-on bickering match. We went back and forth over whether or not we should get ready for the Social Services lady. Bianca scanned the room every few seconds, waiting for Meg Social Services to appear. At some point, I gave up the fight and went back to studying my _Mythomagic_ deck. I already had the whole thing memorized, but a little refresher never hurt anybody. Bianca got quieter as well. There was a long break of silence between us.

Bianca fiddled with her long hair. I fiddled with my cards. We were both nervous but we were too stubborn to admit it. "She should _be_ here, Nico. Why isn't she here?" Her voice cracked. I looked up to see my sister's eyes dark with tears. I didn't know what to tell her. She was the one with all the answers.

"di Angelo children! Come here now!" I heard the familiar voice of Dr. Thorn hiss at us. Bianca and I jumped out of our seats, completely startled.

She wiped the wetness under her eyes hastily as I fumbled with my deck of cards. In unison, we said, "Yes, sir," then stumbled out of the bleachers. Dr. Thorn simply pointed toward the doors at the opposite side of the gym. It was odd because we never used those doors; they lead to the unfinished corridor of the school. His blue eye started to glow in a strange way. I suddenly didn't want to question why he wanted us to go there.

Maybe Meg Social Services had finally arrived and was going to take us away?

I looked over to Bianca to see if she thought the same thing when Dr. Thorn gave a disgusted growl and told us to hurry. We lost our footing. Her favorite green hat and my cards went scattering to the floor. Before I could pick them up, Dr. Thorn seized us by the collars of our shirts and hauled us into the dark hallway.

It was at that moment that I realized Dr. Thorn wasn't sent to kidnap us. He was sent to _kill_ us.

* * *

**Dun dun dun!**


End file.
